The present invention relates to electronic mails, and more particularly to a system for routing electronic mails to the best qualified person who can answer the mail.
Electronic mail (e-mail) has recently become one of the most commonly used communication tool in business. As more and more homes are connected to the Internet, it could become an important communication tool for homes also.
In the simplest case, electronic mail is the delivery of text-based messages from a sending computer to one or more recipient computers. The sending and recipient computers are connected to a data network. Typically, the message is temporarily stored in a server of the data network. The recipient computers (users) can retrieve the stored messages at their convenience.
Many users find that sending e-mails is more convenient than sending letters. The user can type a few lines on a computer, enter a simple e-mail address, press a button, and the message is sent. There is no need to print out the message, put it in an envelope, write a long address, and deliver the letter to a mail-box. This is especially important when the user is traveling because he/she may not have access to printers, envelopes, stamps, and mailboxes. Because of the convenience, people tend to write a lot of e-mails, which promote communication. The increased communication improves efficiency, which tends to have a positive effect on profitability of a company.
Although many companies recognize the benefits of e-mails, some of them have installed e-mail systems only recently. This is because e-mail systems in the past were proprietary systems. Messages can only be delivered in such systems if the senders and recipients use the same proprietary system. The proprietary nature of these e-mail systems means that each system can only be accessed by persons associated with the same organization (such as a company or an on-line service provider). It is very difficult to send messages to an intended recipient outside of the system. Thus, a message can only reach a relatively small number of computers (i.e., users). Unless the company has many employees, the costs of setting up an e-mail system may be much higher than the anticipated benefits.
More recently, many companies and homes have been connected to the Internet, which is a world-wide open data network connecting tens of millions of computers. One of the reasons for the Internet""s popularity is that the cost of accessing the Internet is very low. Another reason is that the Internet offers many resources in addition to e-mails. Each user of the Internet is assigned an e-mail address that is recognizable around the world. A computer connected to the Internet can send e-mails to any one of these email addresses. As a result, it is possible to communicate electronically with many people at any time.
As a result of the popularity and convenience of e-mails, many companies allow their customers to send comments and request information and services using e-mails. Typically, these companies set up one or more specific e-mail addresses for these purposes. These mails are typically answered on a first come first serve basis.
It has been found that many of these mails are lost or unanswered. There are many reasons for this problem. One reason is that the person who is supposed to process an e-mail may not be familiar with the subject matter of the e-mail. Thus, this e-mail is left unanswered. One solution is for the person to forward the e-mail to another person who may be more familiar with the subject matter. This increases data traffic and work-load for everyone. Further, there is no guarantee that the intended recipient is available to reply to the e-mail. Consequently, there is a need to have a more efficient system to handle this problem.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention a method for processing electronic messages is provided, comprising steps of (a) selecting a first queue to store a message; (b) starting a first timing function when placing the message in said first queue, the timing function defining a time for an action to be taken on said message; (c) in response to said action being taken within said time, stopping the timing function; and (d) in response to no action within the time for an action to be taken, routing said message to a second queue. In the method said time for an action to be taken may be varied. There may further be a step for starting a second timing function when said message is moved to said second queue.
In another aspect of the invention a computer-readable medium is provided having stored thereon a set of instructions, said set of instructions, which when executed, perform the steps comprising (a) selecting a first queue to store a message; (b) starting a first timing function when placing the message in said first queue, the timing function defining a time for an action to be taken on said message; (c) in response to said action being taken within said time, stopping the timing function; and (d) in response to no action within the time for an action to be taken, routing said message to a second queue. In this method the time for an action to be taken may be varied. There may also be a step for starting a second timing function when said message is moved to said second queue, and further steps for further routing of said message during the duration of the time for an action to be taken.
In yet another aspect of the invention a method for processing electronic messages is provided, the method comprising the steps of (a) receiving an electronic message in a mail system; (b) routing said message by processing with a processor by a set of rules; (c) sending said message to a first queue as a result of routing in step (b); and (d) starting a timing function upon sending said message to said first queue, the timing function defining a time within which an action on said message is required. The time for an action to be taken may be varied. Further, there may be a step for sending the message to a second queue in the event said action is not taken in the defined time for the action to be taken. There may further be a step for starting a second timing function when said message is sent to said second queue.
In various embodiment of this invention, taught in enabling detail below, for the first time apparatus and methods are provided for efficiently routing electronic messages to selected recipients, while handling potential overflow, and also ensuring that messages are responded to in reasonable times periods.